Multiple speed mechanism for slicing machines



Sept. 29, 193.1. J. FOLK 1,824,949

MULTIPLE SPEED MECHANISM FOR SLICING MACHINES Filed Jan. 8, 1926 S'ShQetS-Sheet 1 J. FOLK Sept. 29, 1931.

MULTIPLE SPEED MECHANISM FOR SLICING MACHINES Filed Jan. 8, 1926 6 Sheets-Sheet -2 J. FOLK Sept. 29, 1931.

MULTIPLE SPEED MECHANISM FOR SLICING MACHINES Filed Jan. 8, 1925 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 p or Sept. '29, 1931. J. FOLK MULTIPLE SPEED MECHANISM FOR SLICING IACHINES 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Jan. 8, 1926 J. FOLK Sept 29, 1931.

MULTIPLE SPEED MECHANISM FOR SLICING MACHINES Filed Jan. 8, 1926 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 J. FOLK Sept Z 9, I931.

MULTIPLE SPEED MECHANISM FOR SLICING MACHINES Filed Jan. 8, 1926 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Patented Sept. 29, 1931 .iosnrn 1101.12,, on LVA'V r.omE,.. INDIANA, A!E.SI(51-N.OR To. U. s. SLICING MACHINE com:-

PANIQFLA POBTE, ,mnmnare CORPORATION or NDIANA.

ri m srEEn MEcnAnisi/r nonermine MACHINES eminence-med January 8, 1926. Serial No; 79324 This; invention. relates; to mechanism for driving machines-- for? slicing; meat or similar" materiahand: has for ltSObjGCt theprovision oli a: powerdrive: forssuclr machines: which 3? shallibe of: improved: construction; and; opers atiom. which; will permit. operation of the slicing: machines at a. plurality. of: different,

speeds and. ini'which. interlocking mechas nism is provided to prevent-impropershifts ing of theparts of; the multiple speed drive.

The; invention is; exemplified in the. combination and 1 arrangementofz partsrs'hown' in. the accompanying: drawings and described in; thefollowing specification and it lS-"II10l',I particularly pointed. out inc-the; appended; claims-a. p

In the; drawings-- Fig. l is a. fragmentary front elevation,. with parts in.- section, showingia ;slicing5ma..- chine: having; one; embodiment of: the; present invention. applied thereto;

Fig; 2' is. a section; substantially on line: 2-2;0Fig..lx;: A

Fig: 3 is. a section: substantially on line- 3'-3 of Fig..2;.,.

4=4s of Fig..2;

Fig; 5 is.an:.elevatin'with1parts in section: showing a modified form of the invention; 50 Fig; 6 is a section substantially. on. line fi -60f Fig.5; 'J Q Fig; 7 is a, section: substantially on line- 7'7 of Fig. 6';iand! t Fig; 8 is an elevation; showing; the clutch, lever." T I i The invention. is especially adapted for use in connect-ionwith slicing, machines hav--:

ing rotary slicing knives and reciprocating-f Fig; k is a. section substantially on. line tained even: though: the speed-ofthez motor may vary: considerably due to differences: in;

. voltages of the SOUIZCG'Of supply.

Inethe'embodiment of theinvention showni in. the: drawings, the numeral 10 designates the: frame; of a slicing; machine having; a reciprocating feed table '11: mounted to: slide on: guides '12.- The table 11 is :reciprocatedby means of. a connecting rod-13* operated by,

a crankl l carried by an'upri ght shaft 15 int a manner wellknown, to the art. Theshaft.

15 is journaled in a bearing 16 mounted. on; the frame and a beveled gear. LT is carried: atitheilower end of the-shaft; The-gear l7 meshes with a pinion 18*carriedon a1 shaft 51 19journaled in'bearings 20inthe: frame 10;. The end oftheshaft; 19: projects from the frame IOY'and" carries agear 21 secured to. the outer end thereof. A housing: 22: encloses the gear 21 a-nd'is securedlto the frame 70 10. by screws 23 extending through clone gated openings 24= in the1housing 22 to permit adjustment of the housing; upon the frame 10:

Mounted on-the housing'22 is-ae closed gear, 7 a

casing; consisting of separately formed sections 25 and 26.. The section 25 is secured to the. housing 22- by}-screws27 and t'he section 26 is secured totlle section 25 by. screws28. A

disc knife 29rl$1 secured: to a. shaft 30; which. is journaled'in ball; bearings 31' carried on the;

rear ofthe casing section 25;, .A: pinion-32 is secured to the shaft 30 between? the knife 29 andthe. bearing 31. An-idler 33 'connectsthe pinion 32 with the gear 21.. The-idler 33zis journaled. on.- a stud shaft 34} which is carriedby a: plate 35, secured5 to the-rear wall ofi the" casing section 25 by-screws. 36... The:

screws 36 extendlthrough slots 37; in'the; plate to permitlateral adjustmentof the plate am It will be notedfrom Fig. 3Ythatthestudshaft" 34 is at: one lside of the center lineof the shafts 19 and 30. This makes it possible to move the shaft 34- by loosening the screws 36,,thus shifting the gears 33 to take up any-' lost mot-ion in thegear train connectingth shafts 19- and 30. Y

The shaft 30- is. provided with a clutch. member 38 journaled: torotate thereon-but; 7 held against longitudinal movementby a col-- I00 The outer end of the plunger 46'is fixedto a cap 47 by means of a threaded portion 48 and a lock nut 49. The cap '47 is provided wlth screws 50, Fig. 1, the inner ends of which ena e cam rooves or threads 52 on a stud g e 53 secured to the casing member 26 by screws 54. A handle 55 is connected to the cap 47 to shaft 65, but held against'rotation thereon.

enable the cap to be rotated on the stud 53. It will be apparent that rotation of the cap by the handle will force the plunger 46 inwardly and release the clutch 42 by'movement thereof against the'force of the spring 43. Movement of the handle in the opposite direction will release the plunger 46 and permit thespring 43 to re-engagethe clutch members 38 and 42.- The gear 41 secured to the clutch member 38 meshes with a gear 56 fixed to a-shaft 57 journaled in bearings 58 and 59 in the casing members 25 and 26. The shaft 57 carries two additional gears 60 and V 61 which are also fixed to the shaft. The gears 56,60'and 61 differ from one another in di-- ameter to provide different speed ratios for operating the shaft 30. a I

Pinions 62, 63 and 64 are mounted to slide on a shaft 65 in the casing members 25 and 26. The pinions 62, 63 and 64 are arrangedto mesh with the gears 56, 60, and 61, respectively, the shiftable gears being all secured to a sleeve 68 which is slidably mounted on the The sleeve 68 is engaged by a fork 69, see also Fig. 4, which fork'is secur'edto a rod 70 slidably'mounted in the gear casing. The rod 70 is provided with a handle 71 by which the rod may be slid endways to shift the fork 69 and the gears '62, 63 and 64. A spring-pressed detent 72 engages notches 73in the rod 70 to retain therod in its various positions of adj ust-ment in which the shift gears engage withtheir respective co-operating gears on the shaft 57. The shaft 65 carries a worm gear 74 which meshes with a worm 75 on a shaft 76 journaled in the casing member 26' and extending transverse tothe direction of the shaft 65. i

The'shaft 76 is connected to a motor shaft 77 operated by a motor 78 mounted on a bracket 79 adjustably connected'by screws 80 to a flange plate 81 extending downward- 1y from the casing section 26. The bearings for-the shafts journaled in the casing section 26 are provided with suitable packing to .70 from being shifted longitudinally. When the handle 55 is shifted to release the clutch 42 'an opening 83- in; the housing 47 will be brought into registration with the end of the detent 72 .so that whenthe handle is in position to fully release the clutch 42 the rod 70 may be movedto shift the gears, but in all other positions of the handle 55 the rod will be held against movement- This makes it impossible to shift the gears while the shaft 30 is rotating to drive the slicing machine. While the rod-70 is in any intermediate position thepin'82 will be held in the opening 83 and the clutch, handle 55.. will be locked against rotation. This makes it impossible to re-engage the clutch until the gears are properly meshed.

The cap 47 is provided with stops 84 which engage a pin 85 in the support for the stud 53 to limit the movement of the handle. The release of the clutch disconnects the load from the motor at the time that the gears are shifed but at the same time permits the gears to continue to rotate so that they may be easily meshed when shifted from one speed to another. The interlocking mechanism makes it impossible to shift the gears into mesh while the load is on the driving mechanism. The mechanism also makes it impossible to throw the clutch into-engagement while the gears are in an intermediate position. 'Engagement of the clutch can only be effected after the gears have'been brought properly into mesh at one or the other of the speed ratios. The adjustable bracket for the motor makes it possible to accommodate the motor support to motors of various styles and sizes. The gearing provides a reduction train from the motor to the drive and a further-reduction train from the drive to the reciprocating table. This arrangement has considerableadvantage over a drive connected with the operating mechanism for the reciprocating tablefor in that case the speed must be reduced from the motor to the table operating mechanism and again stepped up to drive the knife. It will be seen that the entire change speed mechanism and motor are In the form: of the invention shown'in Figs.. 5,156., and. 8., the shaft :anduits'connected parts .are similar to those already described but the counter shaft. .57havi ng the change speed gears 56, '6'0'and 61 isfjournalled at. a higher position on the horizontal level with the shaft :30. The shaft which carries the sliding gears-62,63 and 64 is journall'ed below theshaft .57 and occupies the same relation to the shaft 5.7 as it doesin the form already-described. This shaft will be econsiderably nearer the shaft 30, however, and the three shafts will be arranged-in a triangular position relative to each [other as shown in Fig.7 so that a more compact arrangement is secured- This will leavespace for a. motor housing heneath'the portion 26 of the gear housing. The motor 28 is disposed within the housing 9.0 and isse'cured to. an inner side 7 wall -91 thereof. The motor shaft 92 is'rconnected by pinions 93 and :94 and an idler 95 with a worm shaft96journalled in the gear housing 26. The shaft 96 is provided with .a Worm 97 which meshes with a gear 98 on the shaft -'65. The motor housing 90 is provided witha sleeve 99 which receives a bearing 100 for the shaft '96. The bearing 100 is fixed in a sleeve 101'forming a part of the gear housing 26.. The disposition :of the motor. beneath the'gear housing 26 effects an economy of space'at the rear of the slicing machine, that, is, at the left of the knife, as viewed in 7. This space economy is of especial importance where the slicing machine is placed on a counter having a glass'front- In such an arrangement, the rear of the machine or the side at the left of the knife, as viewed in Fig. 7 is arranged adjacent the glasssfront' and if the motor projects beyond the rest of the machine, it is impossible to place the machine as clo'se'to the glass as could otherwise be done. The arrangement shown in Fig. 7 makes it possibleto bring therearextremity oft'he motor casing in substantial .alinement with the rear of the slicing machine frame so that the motor does not occupy a position that would interfere with the properplacing of the machine on a counter having a glass front. Theposition of the motor also makes it possibleto-enclose i-t ina'housing which harmonizes closely with the remainder of the machine. I V W T p In the form of the invention shown in Figs. 5, 6, 7 and 8, a'somewhat different 0})- e'ratingmechanism for the gear shaftand clutch from that previously described-is provided'. A slide rod 102 ismounted-inthe; gear housing and is provided with a yoke 103v which engages the carrier. for the shift gears 62,? 63.:aa1d 6iina manner similar to theyoke 69 previously-described. The outer end of the shift rod 102 is provided with rack teethwhich engage :a pinion 104 secured to a shaft 105 journalled in bearing 106 formed in-- tegral witha tubular extension 107 projecting outw aly from ma ma-squeegee. The

shaft 105 isprovided with ahand'w'heel 108; anda camdisc10'9, [The disc 109- engages a jspringdetent110. which hol-ds the disc from accidental rotation when the shift gears are moved-into'rt'heir: running positions. When p -Th'e plunge-r 16 for opera" ing the clutch 12 is arranged to register with the upper endof a lever 113 ournalled at llion a bracketllfi projecting;outwardlyffro1n the -gear, housing 26. The levefl13 is providedwitha stop 116 which registers with a pin 117 onthe detent when the clutch 42 is in engagement with the clutchm-ember 38. Thiswil l prevent rotation of the hand wheel 108 to shift the gears while the clutch is engaged. The upper end of the lever- 113 may be provided with a-contact screw 118 held in place by lock nuts 119. The lower end of the lever113 registers with a cam 120 secured to the end of a shaft 121, The shaft 121 isprovided with astop pin: 122 7 arranged to engage a stop surface 123 causing the cam 120 to hold the lever 113 in position toretain the clutch 12 out of engagement. Theshaft 121 is operatedby a handywheel 121 positioned adjacent the front or operators end of the slicing machine. \Vhen the hand wheel 124 is rotated tomove the lever113 and disengage the clutch i2, the'stop 116 will be moved out of registration with the pin 117 so that the hand wheel 118 may be rotated to 7 shift the gears. If the hand wheelis stopped withthe gears in an intermediate or neutral position, therpin 117 will project into the path of the stop 116 and prevent..reengagementof thegclutchluntilthe gears are in proper mesh for driving the knifefat one ,ofthethree speeds. The connection from the knife V spindle to the drivinglmechanism for. the reciprocating table. is the same. in this species of the invention as in the one previously described. v f a I claim z 1. The combination with a slicing machine frame, of a gear casing secured to said frame, a knife mounted on said gear casing, gears arrangedwithin said casing for driving said knife, and: a support for said casing spaced outwardly from. said frame.

' 2. .The combination with a slicing machine frame, of affeed table mounted for-reciprocation on said frame, a gear casing detachably connected .withtsaidframe, a knife spindle journaled in said gear casing, a disc knife carriedi by said. spindle, a clutch-mounted on said spindle, a shiftable -gear. train having driving eonnection j with one element of said clutch, said gear strain including a set of changespeed shift gears, a; motor for driving 1 1 connected with thehandwheel 108 to indicate the position of: the shift gears. i

said gear train adjustably carried by said gear-casing, a slide bar for moving said shift gears, a spring detent for holdingsaid'slide;

relative time of operation of said clutch and shift gears.

I. 3. In a slicing machine, the combination with a horizontally disposed knife spindle of a housing enclosing said. spindle, driving gearingdisposed within said housing andat one side of said knife spindle and operatively connected therewith, a motor arranged beneath said housing and partially covered thereby, and driving connection between said motor and gearing. T

4. In a slicing machine, the combination with a knife spindle, of change speed gearing disposed at one-side of the vertical plane of the axis of said spindle, a worm shaft extending transversely to the axis of said spin dle for driving said change speed gearing, a motor disposed beneath said worm shaft and having its axis of rotation parallel to the axis of said worm shaft, and driving connection between said motor and worm shaft.

1 5. In a slicing machine, asupportingframe, a-rotary slicing knife, a spindle for supporting said slicing knife, a motor for driving said spindle, a clutch mounted on said spindle for connecting said slicing knife with said motor, a lever for operating said clutch, an operating rod for said lever, and means for actuating said rod, said actuating means being disposed adjacent the front of said supporting frame.

' ing.

6. The combination with a slicing knife, of

a support for said knife, a spindle journalled in said support and having said knife mounted thereon, change speed gearlng for said splndle disposed at one side of the vertical alane of the axis thereof,a housing for said gearing, a motor for driving said change speed gearing, and a housing for said motor disposed beneath the housing for said gear- 7; Incombination, a horizontally disposed driven shaft, a horizontally disposed trans mission shaft extendingtransversely of said driven shaft, reduction gearing for transmitting movement from'said transmission shaft to said driven shaft, a motorsupport, a motor mounted therein-having its shaft disposed substantially parallel with said transmission shaft, and means for transmitting motion from said motor shaft to said transmission shaft. r

"8. In combination, a horizontally disposed driven shaft,.a horizontally disposed trans mission shaft arranged below and transverse- 1y tosaid driven shaft, a motor disposed be low said transmission shaft, means for transmitting imotion from said motor to said transmission shaft, a bearing for said transmission shaft, and a support for 'said motor mounted on said bearing...

9. In-combination, a driven shaft, two intermediate shafts having their axes parallel with said driven shaft and disposed in trian gular relation, change speed gearing connecting said intermediate shafts, a clutch interposed between said change speed gearing and said. driven shaft, a worm shaft extending transversely of said intermediate shafts and having driving connection with one of said intermediate shafts, and means for driving said worm shaft.

10. In combination, a'driven shaft, a gear mounted on said driven shaft, a clutch for connecting said gear to said driven shaft, a

pair of intermediate-shafts,'a gearmounted 'said change speed gearing, means for operating said clutch, and interlocking mechanism between said change speed gearing and clutch operating. mechanism for preventing shifting of said change speed gearing while said clutch is in engagement and forpreventing engagement of said clutch when said change speed gearing is out of operative rela-. tion.,-

' 12. In combination witha slicing machine having a rotary slioingknife, of a horizontally disposed driven shaft, a driving connection between said shaft and knife, a transmission shaft arranged'below and transverselyvto said drivenshaft, a motor disposed be: low said-transmission shaft, means for transmitting motion from said motor to said transmission shaft, a bearing for said transmission shaft, and a support for said motor mountedon said bearing.

13. In a slicing machine, a knife spindle, a housing in which said spindle is journalled, aworm shaft for driving said spindle, clutch mechanism interposed between said worm shaft .and spindle, a. motor supported beneath' said housing and having. its shaft ar-.

ranged parallel with said Worm shaft, means for driving said wormshaft from said motary knife spindle, of a knife supportedby lio said spindle, a driving connection between said table and spindle, a bearing support, a bearing for said spindle removably carried by said support, a housing connected with said bearing, clutch mechanism within said housing, a motor supported by said housing, and gearing driven by said motor for driving said spindle through said clutch mechanism.

15. The combination with a slicing machine having a reciprocating table, a rotary knife spindle, driving connection between said spindle and table, and a bearing support for said spindle, of a gear housing having bearings for said spindle and a projection surrounding said spindle and carried by said bearing support, a clutch mounted on said spindle in said gear housing, worm gearing for driving one member of said clutch, a handle mounted on the outside of said housing for operating said clutch, a motor for driving said gearing, and a support for said motor adjustablv mounted on said housing.

16. In a slicing machine, 'a knife spindle bracket, a gear housing, a, motor support mounted on said gear housing, a knife spindle journaled in said gea r housing, gearing'in said gear housing connectodwith said knife spindle for driving the same, and means on said gear housing engaging said knife spin dle bracket for supporting said housing and motor support on said bracket, the axis ofrotation of said motor being at substantially right angles to said spindle.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification on this 5th day of January, A. D. 1926.

JOSEPH FOLK. 

